Manteca is moving up to the stronger Division II bracket for the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs this season because of prior success. The team earned back-to-back Division III titles in 2018 and 19 and another in 2016. That’s four straight final-round appearances, including the runner-up finish in 2017. There wasn’t a postseason this past spring as sports returned from the coronavirus shutdown, but Manteca went undefeated against mostly Valley Oak League competition.

 “We have to make it through the season before we can worry about the playoffs,” Manteca coach Mary Ann Tolbert said. “I think in the past we could have gone Division II and done all right, but this year that may be rough.

“We lost Sahiba Kaur and Ellie Kim — they played No. 2 and No. 3 — along with three more who graduated. We lost a huge chunk. We are super young but we had a sophomore who came in last year, Christina Nguyen, and freshmen Emma Ngo and Simar Mann. I think somewhere in there we can squeeze out five points.”

Mann is the sister of Navina Mann who was on the 2016 and 2018 Buffaloes Section championship teams.

Junior Katie Kim has been Manteca’s No. 1 since her freshman year when she made the All-VOL team and is this year’s captain. She placed third in the league singles tournament in 2019 but won the doubles title along with Kaur — the pair went on to finish as runner-up of the SJS Division II Individual Tournament.

“I think I have grown a lot,” Kim said. “I have been practicing outside of high school with my own coaches.”

Joining Kim will be another junior, Jenna Poncini. She was part of the 2019 Section championship team and won the VOL Novice tourney that year.

“It’s really exciting to go into this new year,” Poncini said. “It is also scary because last year was not a genuine year at all.

“We work really well under pressure. This year will be a challenge and I think we will do fine.”

Rounding out the Buffaloes attack will be senior Perla Ramirez, juniors Eva Pasion and Chloe Marquis and sophomore Christina Nguyen.